


Mercurial

by Myrs_Fics



Series: SakuKaka [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Dubious Consent, F/M, accidental one night stand
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-08-30 18:30:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8544436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myrs_Fics/pseuds/Myrs_Fics
Summary: " That shampoo is definitely Pakkun's though, so he really should go about getting the pack off his bed because this really is the absolute ~LAST~ time he's waking up with dog hair in his mouth..."





	1. First Night

**Author's Note:**

> I've tagged for potential triggers, and the chapter contains smut folks, you've been warned, but the fic is generally about dealing with the morning after - e.g "I can't believe I actually slept with X", basic one night stand stuff. I'm rambling now, but know this was mostly inspired by wanting to contribute to the tumblr kakasaku community, and being too chicken to post it on my actual tumblr.

Kakashi doesn't want to get up. It's not the first time that waking up has been less favourable than rolling over and seeking out a few more hours of rest in the comfort of his own sheets. It is warm and he is comfortable, which is a pleasure he rarely allows himself to indulge in. He shifts his shoulder slightly, allowing his sheet to shift down. He does it so that he might feel the cool morning air on his skin. It helps to clear his head in the morning. Waking up slowly is a rare occurrence, so each minute he doesn't have to get up and set off for a mission or a meeting is bliss.

Except as his head clears, he realises that these are not his sheets. He blinks at them blearily and decides that the kunai print must be one of his 'friends' idea of a funny joke. Gai once put a green jumpsuit on his bed whilst he was sleeping. He vaguely recalls having nightmares about that one; nightmares that involved leaping out of bed with far more energy than he's feeling now. He closes his eyes and buries his face further into the pillow and hair in front of him and-

-Hair?

HAIR!?

For a brief moment he considers that the pack have slithered their way into his bedroom again, despite his constant, and ongoing, battle against them to keep the sanctity of his bed safe. He considers opening his eyes but it really is very comfortable, and it's warm too, which is a plus.

That shampoo is definitely Pakkun's though, so he really should go about getting the pack off his bed because this really is the absolute ~LAST~ time he's waking up with dog hair in his mouth…Except Pakkun has short hair. And Urushi, who does have long hair, does not use the same shampoo as Pakkun. Akino does, but, like Urushi, his hair is not long enough for the amount his face is buried in.

Kakashi slowly and cautiously opens an eye a fraction to gauge the situation.

He then opens it fully.

And a split second later the other accompanies it for confirmation.

There beside him, face tucked intimately against his own, is Sakura Haruno. Sakura Haruno is right there, in his personal space, in what can only be called extremely personal contact with his…person.

Kakashi's first instinct is to look for a way out. A jutsu, a something, an ANYTHING to get him out of this predicament. All his current panic, however, is brought to a screeching halt by the sudden and intense onslaught of the most godawful hangover he has ever experienced.

He can't help the groan that escapes him as a throb of pain chews it's way into his frontal lobe and starts scratching around for purchase. The sound he makes wakes his unexpected bed-mate and he realises, with a growing feeling of discomfort, that she is as intimately wrapped around him as he is her.

As she awakens he freezes and another wave of pain skittering around his skull causes his eyes to cross, which, unfortunately, is the first sight that Sakura sees as she opens her eyes and looks at him.

The silence between them stretches out. 

Here, he thinks, is where he's going to die. Granted he was expecting this sort of end for himself, Icha-Icha-style in the bosom (or possibly bosoms) of beauty in what were his closely guarded, wildest dreams. The reality, of course, was that he'd expire on duty. Or at least, that was what he'd hoped would be his end.

Instead she breaks the silence with a small, innocuous sound which escalates until he realises is her repressing her amusement at their current situation. He cringes slightly as a full on chuckle escapes her, causing a sharp stabbing sensation in his head and, in stark contrast, a strangely pleasurable sensation rippling up from his-

-oh good lord.

She gasps and cuts off her own laughter, freezing in place. He looks everywhere but at her as he realises the full extent of their intertwined bodies. He feels his face heat uncontrollably.

He is fully erect.

And he is inside her.

And from the look of shock on her face, she's picked up on their current situation too.

Even worse is that he can feel her clenching around him, as though to confirm that yes, his erection really is in there. She looks down and he follows suit, because he's wondering what she's looking for. Their legs are intertwined and their hips are pressed together. He can barely see any space between them given how close together they are. As she lifts her head back up it drags her cheek against his own which, he notes sourly, is as naked as the rest of him, not to mention as naked as she is, if that glance he just took is any indicator.

She makes eye-contact again and he winces once more, not in exaggeration at their unexpected plight, but at the increasing headache that seems to be now clouding his vision. She mutters something at him but he can't hear it over the thundering of blood in his ears. Her eyebrows furrow in worry and she lifts her free arm, the one thats not trapped under him and somehow wrapped around his back, up and presses her palm to his temple.

A vague green glow flickers in his peripheral vision and with a surprisingly brisk (and queerly minty) feeling the headache is gone.

At least the pain of that hangover was something to hide behind.

Now with the full clarity of morning light he could appraise their position.

What a position it was.

He'd be impressed if it wasn't for the rather startling array of facts that suddenly pressed themselves into the now pain-free space in his brain. Panic starts to set in again, but the embarrassment of the situation keeps his face an unflattering shade of scarlet. He tries to speak but ends up letting out a sound not unlike a gaping fish.

Sakura's shoulders rise and Kakashi braces himself for an onslaught of righteous anger. She's going to beat him black and blue for this, for defiling her, for besmirching her honour.

She won't care that he's in the same position, one, he might add, with growing annoyance, that he's never, ever been in before.

Instead she starts laughing. Practically howling with ill-timed amusement at what can only be him and their unexpected joining. Part of him thinks that this is possibly the most promising reaction she can have, given the circumstances. However, his body betrays him as his hips unconsciously shift towards her in response to the body shaking with her mirth.

Her hand at his back shifts and grips his shoulder and the other presses against his chest. It's too much contact, for him and he strangles a whimper that tries to escape. He notices a slight flush on her cheeks as her laughter is cut off by a soft moan.

Gathering himself he shifts his own hands and realises one is indeed firmly trapped beneath her hip. A flex of his fingers confirms that yes, he is partially squeezing her bottom, which, from the expression on her face, is as much a surprise to her as it is to him. The other hand is as traitorous as the first, even more so in his opinion, as it is a little too firmly clamped onto her other cheek. He tries to remove it, but it has a mind of its own and his brain is so fried by the situation that he can do no more than try to not move at all.

He honestly thought he couldn't go any redder, but he can feel the blush staining his face spread down his neck and chest and Sakura starts laughing again, burying her face in the crook of his neck as she does so, pressing her small, but very present breasts against him.

He chokes out a complaint, finally.

"I don't see what's so funny."

She pats him in a consoling manner and raises her head to look at him.

"Oh come on, it's not the first time you've gotten drunk and woke up next to someone right?"

He narrows his eyes and glares at her, studiously ignoring the pleasing shift of her flesh against his own. The blush begins to fade in the face of his growing irritation. At his own lack of control or hers, he's not sure. Probably his. It feels right to blame himself right about now.

"Wait, seriously?" She asks, confusion wiping the amusement from her face. "You've never had a little too much and-" she halts herself, suddenly looking rather alarmed. She turns away and frowns, obviously trying to work out how to explain herself for whatever this is.

"No." He feels compelled to confirm, lest she find something else about their scenario funny. "No, I have never taken anyone to bed, let alone done so whilst intoxicated."

Whatever she was thinking of saying halts as she slowly turns back towards him with a look he can only describe as predatory. It then turns calculating. His shoulders tense at her growing smirk and he feels a wave of nervous energy pass through him. He pales as the predatory look returns to her face.

"Do you remember last night?" She asks, deceptively innocent.

He snorts, then thinks a moment and with horror recalls his night with all the clarity of the view from an opaque window.

"No, but the last thing I do remember is being given a bottle of something horrific by an Ambassador from Mist, which you then proceeded to drink with me in case I offended him by refusing." She chuckles and he frowns again. He pauses and closes his eyes for a brief moment, thinking a little harder, trying to pull at least one memory from the fog of the night before.

"I also recall you finishing the bottle… and then making an exit by offering to escort me home while you were weaving. I then made our excuses and took you home instead of… Kiba, it was Kiba, who was as drunk as you, if not more! I thought that you'd never make it home with him… so I… offered instead."

He glowered at her and she didn't even have the grace to look ashamed. Instead she smirked and shifted her hips against him with purpose. He curses the pleased groan that escapes him with the movement.

"It might be a little easier to think if we…ah, finish up here first?" She punctuates the 'here' from her sentence by beginning to rock against him. He tightens his grip to stop her and whilst this succeeds, it also pulls her more firmly against him. 

"Stop that."

She blinks up at him and cocks her head to the side feigning confusion. She clenches within and he feels every millimetre of her warmth as she does so.

"What do you mean-" she clenches again, adding sweetly, "-Rokudaime~sama?" Another clench. He breathes out through his nose and really tries to ignore it. It's no use. He has to do something, control is hers and he's never liked things being so one sided.

He steels himself and without really thinking it through rolls them over, but she seems to have anticipated his movements because she keeps the motion going, rolling them both until she finds herself on top of him and then both of them veer sharply to the side, their rolling continuing against either ninja's will.

Unfortunately neither recalled that the bed containing them was too narrow. Both tumbled to the floor in a tangle of limbs and sheets.

"Ka-" She gasps, cut off by a sound he's never heard from her before. Her body, having landed beneath him, shudders and ripples around him and for a moment his vision blanks and he tightens his grip on her in an effort to stop her movements, which is rapidly causing a loss of control of his own.

He fails and a sound tumbles from deep within him that is not unlike hers in nature. A rushing feeling floods through him and moments later he finds himself feeling boneless, with his forehead resting against bedsheets and cold floor tiles. His chin brushes her temple.

"Did… you just-" he stutters out, trying to catch his breath. He's not daft, and he's well read enough to know just what's happened.

She makes a pleased noise and hums an affirmation. She holds him to her, so he remains where he is. All strength has left him and the patterns she is tracing on his back are more soothing than they have any right to be. Her legs splay weakly on either side of his hips and he can feel his knuckles burn from where they crashed into the floor, his hands still gripping her behind.

"So," she murmurs against his clavicle, after a few gasping breaths, "-can you move?"

Kakashi grumbles and manages to pull his hands from beneath her, sliding them across the floor and lifting himself up, off and finally out of her only to have her halt his escape as she cups his face with her hands.

"So I was your first?"

Kakashi blinks owlishly at her, wondering how she'd know that, only to realise he'd essentially told her not moments before.

"Not by intent I assure you." He mutters. She pats him on the cheek and smiles brightly.

"I would have thought you'd have your pick of women with a reputation like yours."

He rolls his eyes and the flush that coloured his cheeks returns with vigour. She brushes a few strands of silver-grey hair from his eyes.

"I can see why you hide that face of yours though, Sensei." He looks everywhere but at her but can't seem to find the energy to break contact with her. "You're very handsome."

"I'm also apparently a cradle-snatcher." He mutters in annoyance. At his comment she bursts into fresh laughter, the sound doing nothing to alleviate his embarrassment in the slightest. He finally turns to glower at her and she watches him carefully, a smile still on her lips.

"I suppose that makes me a grave-robber eh?" She chuckles and he can't help but find that funny. A snort escapes him, followed by a poorly concealed laugh.

"Alright," he concedes, "point taken."

She strokes his face gently and the gesture makes him focus on her fully. She's obviously not as upset by the situation as he is, but their point of view is different regarding it. He supposes it's just a case of different opinions. A brief look of sadness crosses her face and he feels compelled to soothe her. She is, after all, in the same uncomfortable situation. She must be realising just how unhappy he is, as her humour seems to drain out of her completely.

"Sakura?"

"I'm sorry!" She blurts, and he stares at her in confusion. Seeing this she continues on, rambling out her explanation.

"I took advantage, I had no idea you were-" she fumbles for the right word, attempting to not offend him, "…inexperienced? I thought it was just a…but it wasn't, and now it's…but last night you were really confident and it felt right and…and now you're hurt and I should of actually asked you if you were okay but I teased you and I'm just so, so sorry."

He watches as she stutters through her apologies. Bracing himself on one hand he lifts himself back to sit on his haunches. He uses the other hand to gently remove her hands from his face. Granted, he can't deny how relaxed he's feeling, any more than he can deny how attractive the young woman splayed out before him is. She suddenly seems to reclaim a modicum of modesty, as she quickly makes a point of pulling a sheet across her body to shield herself from his wandering gaze.

"It's…it's alright, Sakura." He sighs, tugging a hand through his hair in a vague attempt to straighten it out. "These things…happen."

That's as much as he feels he can give right now. As much as it seems like they're on the same page now, he still feels guilty. Guilty and angry. He looks for his mask only to find it nowhere in sight. He looks back to Sakura who he catches appraising his body with a pleased scrutiny he's startled to find he's becoming accustomed to. She guiltily turns her head away and now it's her turn to blush. He smirks and huffs out a laugh which turns her face back towards him and he spots indignation in her expression.

Her eyes dart off to the side and fix somewhere behind and above him. He turns and follows her line of sight and finds what he was previously looking for. His mask is dangling from her ceiling lamp. He decides he's going to dress first before reclaiming it. This morning has already been embarrassing enough without him jumping around in the altogether to gather his scattered garments.

He tugs on the blanket in the hopes of preserving what little is left of his dignity but finds it firmly grasped by the woman beneath him. He gives it an experimental tug but she refuses to let go.

"It is my bedsheet you know."

"I am your guest though."

They stare at each other and Sakura sniffs daintily.

"Well, you've got nothing I haven't seen already." She snips and tosses her head away.

"Oh really?" He can't help the slight teasing growl that comes into his voice at her actions. He doesn't know what drives him to do it, but he leans forwards, trapping her again underneath him and framing her head with his forearms. She notices his arm next to her head and looks straight up at him. Her eyelids lower and she tilts her head down and to the side, looking up at him out of the corner of her eyes. He finds the expression attractive on her and decides that maybe he understands a little of why his drunk self from the night before bedded her.

"Yes…really."

"You don't sound very confident, Sakura." He breathes the words out quietly and she shivers a little.

"That…" She whispers.

He doesn't move.

"That's what you looked like last night." She's looking at him now with what he suddenly recalls is the very same expression she wore when he-

"Ah. I see." He swallows nervously and breaks eye contact. Sobriety is helping him recall a few of those details from the past evening that he could have sworn he'd forgotten. 

"Then it seems I'm the one who owes you an apo-"

She cuts him off with a short curse which he realises a second too late is not directed at him. She grabs a handful of his hair and pulls his head towards her, pressing her mouth to his with an urgency that curls his toes and brings a different language to his tongue.

They part and he gasps out her name but she pulls him down again, this time deepening the kiss and tightening her grip on his hair. He can taste last nights liquor on her tongue, something else too, a flavour that is familiar and elusive all at once. He is abruptly torn between wanting to see how this works with all his mental facilities in working order and withdrawing because he can list every single reason as to why this is wrong and he needs to stop because she's very, very good at this and he should really, really know better.

He pulls his head back sharply, separating them and ending the kiss. Sakura whimpers at the loss of contact but quickly gathers herself and covers her flushing face with her hands.

He can hear her mumbling yet more apologies through her palms over the rushing of blood in his veins.

Kakashi takes the opportunity to pick himself up and find his trousers in the disarrayed room. They're haphazardly tossed over a fallen chair and he picks them up and slides his legs in quickly, opting for covering more skin over details like underwear. He can still feel her on his skin, and the brush of fabric against him helps him focus on the task at hand. He turns to look for his shirt and finds Sakura standing.

Her back is to him and for the first time he can see the extent of their coupling. He can see the imprints of his own hands not only on her behind, but on her hips, her thighs, even on one of her ankles.

Kakashi swallows thickly as he follows the bruising upwards to find more especially incriminating marks. And mark her he has. There is a smattering of rose coloured petals on her shoulders, at her neck…he spots one behind her ear as she tucks a lock of pink up and away from her face.

By the time Sakura turns around he is gone, though she could swear she felt his eyes on her as she rose to dress.

Absently she glances around the room and finds her gaze drawn back up to the light on her ceiling, the mask still hanging in place. His other clothes have gone, but this one item still remains. She stands on the bed to retrieve it and holds it between her hands, turning it over as she looks at it. A thought crosses her mind that she ought to return it.

Instead she places it in the drawer of her beside table.


	2. Curiosity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where things have changed, and a close friend picks up on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments everyone :) I did receive one from a less than savory person, but they have been duly reported, and duly ignored. Naming it will only make it feel important, and I can sit here happy in the knowledge that it has not wasted my time, nor put me off, and it has wasted it's own time, which I won't be giving back, nor reimbursing in any way :D
> 
> On to chapter two.

She's standing at his desk and filtering out the files there by date and department when she catches him looking at her. It's not as though he's sneaking covert glances at her from under that ridiculously large hat that serves as a mantle of state either. He's observing her with a scrutiny usually reserved for one of his perverse novels.

Eventually she gets bored of being examined and coughs politely, signalling to the Hokage that she's noticed his attentions. He merely waves at her in acknowledgement and indicates the teapot in front of him.

"Tea?"

They're supposed to be reviewing the files for medical ninja field missions. It's a rotation that she herself had recommended after realising that she'd been removed from the field mission rota because she'd been deemed 'too valuable' to send out of the village. Sakura viewed such a restriction as a dangerous and slippery slope into the decline of the quality of their medics. A ninja trained in medicine was valuable, but one lacking in field experience was at risk, not only from the elements and conditions they might find themselves in, future-wise, but they might also make foolish mistakes because of something as mundane as a false sense of security.

Kakashi pours out two cups of tea and passes one over to her that she picks up and sips, intending on downing it and getting on with the meeting. When the taste hits her tongue her eyebrows raise in surprise. The brew is exactly the same one that she gets from her grandfather down in the market. She hides her smile behind her tea cup as she watches Kakashi watch her.

"You're not being very subtle about looking at me you know." Sakura says, as she places her cup back on the table. His robes shift as he shrugs.

"I see no reason to be. It appears that I'm seeing you in a new light." If his ears go a little pink at his own statement she chooses to spare his dignity. A new light? She thinks to herself, pleased by the reaction he gives his own observation. She resists the urge to ask why. After all, he is one of the few men she's slept with who hasn't practically stalked her afterwards, or felt like they had some sort of claim on her because of it.

Instead she revels in the knowledge that the man who used to be her Genin instructor is obviously having difficulties reconciling the woman before him with the child he first met over a decade ago. She, however, has no such problems. She very clearly remembers their night together, her clear memory of it is a product of her training helping to burn the alcohol away. The sight of his face, however, was probably what tipped the scales for her. She's not going to lie, she's always had a weakness for a pretty face, and he is very pretty. Not that she'd say that to him. Even Kakashi had masculine pride.

His polite cough brings her back to the meeting at hand. He passes her a signed form, along with a stack of documents that have a series of sticky notes attached to them at various intervals. Things in need of revision, or clarification, according to his notes.

She's surprised by his diligence in the office, having known him from his Jounin days when he was infamous for his poor report returns. She'd asked Yamato how he'd coped with the transition from Jounin paperwork to Hokage paperwork and he'd replied, rather mysteriously, that paperwork from Kakashi's occupation prior to becoming a Jounin again was not unlike his current workload. She had resolved to ask him at some point, but finding the time was difficult.

Kakashi looks at her expectantly, as though she has something to say and she takes it as an opportunity to ask. It looks like he's in a divulgatory mood today. What has she got to lose?

"I'm surprised you can keep up with all of this." She laughs, stacking her forms and tapping them on the desk to straighten them up. She can barely get her hands around them, which she notes him observing with an amused crinkle by his eyes.

"Well, I've had practice." 

"Not with Tsunade, I'd have noticed. The third?"

The Hokage smiles enigmatically at her and taps his nose. She looks at him with confusion.

"I have to have some secrets Sakura."

"Boo." She says, poking her tongue out at him. He laughs and pours himself another cup of tea, placing the pot down when she declines the offer of another. "You've got tons of secrets. Spill. No one gets this good at paperwork just because someone stuffs the Hokage hat on their head. If that was the case we'd have nothing to worry about when Naruto comes into office."

He frowns at the thought. "I hadn't thought of that. Perhaps I should have him shadow Izumo and Kotetsu for a while. Those two have immaculate skills."

"Yes," Sakura lets out a surprised laugh, "because it was those two that Shisho conned into doing most of her work for her!"

Kakashi props his elbows up on the desk in front of him and rests his chin on his hands, leaning closer to her.

"I know. I heard them grumbling about it by chance. They were under the impression that I might find out that they'd been Tsunade's 'paper-mules' and that I'd employ them for the same thing."

"What did they say when you found out?"

"Oh the usual," he says, leaning back into his chair and spinning from left to right in it slowly, "honoured Rokudaime-sama," he affects Izumo's voice as he speaks, causing Sakura to hold her files in front of her mouth to stifle her laughter, "we couldn't possibly rob you of the chance to make your own mark on the highest office in Konoha."

She tips her head back and laughs. He really is very good at imitation. Catching her laughter he continues, this time in Kotetsu's voice.

"After all, Rokudaime-sama, someone of your skill should find this no trouble at all. Your reports from your Chuunin days are as legendary as you are."

As he says this she stops laughing and fixes him with a fascinated look.

"Your Chuunin reports?"

"Mah," Kakashi replies, ceasing his chairs rotation and scratching the back of his head in a now rare display of awkwardness, "those are classified, Sakura-chan."

She sniffs in disbelief.

"You were a Chuunin? That's more hard to believe than your immaculate paperwork skills."

"Contrary to poplar belief, I was not born into this world wearing a Jounin uniform."

"Oh Really? That sounds about right, but about those reports. They can't be that classified?"

He shrugs.

"There was a war going on after all."

At this the atmosphere in the room sobers considerably. She shifts uncomfortably in her chair having realised the fun was well and truly over. Kakashi, for all his usual nonchalance, looks apologetic at the change. Thankfully he spares her anymore discomfort and thanks her for her input on the completion of their joint workload.

Sakura rises and bows her head in respect before making for the door. The sound of the wheels of his chair rolling across the floor makes her pause and look back at him as he stands up, waiting for whatever it was he was about to add.

"Sakura?"

She resists the urge to smile openly at his sudden awkwardness. He shifts uncomfortably and then ploughs on resolutely.

"What happens now?"

For a moment she finds herself confused at his question, then his pink ears tell her to what he is alluding and everything becomes clear.

"Well," she begins thoughtfully, "I'd have thought, with your experience in literature that you'd already know?"

He averts his eyes from her and she finds herself oddly charmed by the sudden disappearance of his confidence. Now she knows what he looks like flustered, she can't help but provoke the expression in him, as it gives her a perverse sort of satisfaction to watch him squirm.

"Books are very different from life Sakura. Much of what I read is fiction."

She grins at him beatifically, "Oh but Rokudaime-sama," her grin widens, revealing teeth in a decidedly predatory way, "a well read man is so attractive, especially when he's put it to practice."

She can see him swallow from across the room and feels triumph fill her as Kakashi sits back down in his chair heavily, face scarlet and eyes wide. If she didn't have another meeting she'd be tempted to stay, if just to see what other reactions she could get out of the man.

"Thank you for your time, Rokudaime-sama." She bows again and leaves the room, closing the door behind herself and giving him a few precious moments to compose himself before his next appointment.

____________________

Oh she got him, he thinks, she got him good. To say he was surprised regarding her sudden and (not unwanted if he was being honest) flirtatious behaviour, then he'd be lying.

Her implication had left him more than a little flustered. She hadn't told him outright that she'd wanted further relations with him. Granted, he could also say that she'd not invited him for another round of whatever it was that the two of them had fallen into.

But she had flirted with him.

He might not be the most experienced man in Konoha when it came to intimate relationships, but he'd been a ninja long enough to have witnessed them first hand. Of course, a lot of the relationships he'd witnessed using his ninja skills had of course been illicit in nature, so as far as actual courting was concerned he was quite out of his depth.

'Oh', he thinks to himself, 'courting?'

The idea, not as out of the blue as he'd believed, pervaded his thoughts for the rest of the day. Not that anyone would have noticed anything different. He was a consummate professional after all. He'd never be able to enter the afterlife if he'd done a shitty job as a Hokage. Minato-sensei, Obito and Rin would never let him rest in peace if he messed up. Not to mention not being able to look his parents in the eyes, or his many fallen comrades over the years.

He is convinced that Gai will follow him around forever too, reminding him of the good, the bad and the ugly just because 'that's what friends and rivals do!'

There was a creak of his door opening and there, just outside the door was the man himself.

"It's like a summoning scroll," Kakashi mutters to himself under his breath, "you think about someone, and lo, they appear."

"Youthful Hokage!" Gai beams and rolls himself in, artfully manoeuvring the wheelchair through the doorframe and up to the table, avoiding various crates and boxes that littered the floor of the office of the Rokudaime.

Kakashi stands and ignores his friends attempts to show deference.

"Gai, how many times must I ask you to call me Kakashi?" He sighs, rounding the desk and propping his hip against it in a far too casual stance than he feels.

"Honourable Rokudaime, Rivals we may be, but you now bear the highest rank we shinobi can attain. It would be remiss of me to- to-" Gai stumbles over the rest of his speech as Kakashi very blatantly pouts at him. 

"Rokudaime-sama," Gai begins again, with restrained reprimand in his tone, "that is most unbecoming and, dare I say, most uncool."

"Aren't we friends anymore, Gai?" Kakashi says sadly.

"You're a sadist." Gai gives in and rolls his eyes.

"Gai, I only ask that you and I retain our old, tried and true rivalry. It keeps me grounded. Please?"

"Very well, Kakashi-sama," he stresses the honorific, looking pointedly at Kakashi with a meaningful stare, "but only because it's you."

Kakashi beams and goes back around the desk and takes his seat, but just as he's about to sit Gai makes a noise of concern.

"Have you injured yourself?"

He adjusts his hat and looks at the Taijutsu-specialist in confusion. Gai waves a hand and points at the desk.

"What do you mean?"

"You're limping."

Kakashi frowns and stands up again, stepping from one foot to the other to verify his friend's observation. With a startling moment of clarity he realises that yes, he is limping and even worse, he recalls exactly why he is doing so. He coughs slightly behind his hand and takes a seat again. Gai watches him with a scrutiny usually reserved for one of Lee's training sessions.

"I may have caught myself on my desk earlier."

He watches as a pair of thick eyebrows scrunch together and lower dramatically. It almost looks like a very large, undulating caterpillar. He contains the smile that threatens to emerge at the observation.

"I thought we were friends."

'Oh no,' Kakashi thinks, 'I really shouldn't tease him so much. Now he's using it against me!'

"Well…it's a little...personal, Gai."

"Personal? Kakashi, we are practically brothers! You can tell me anything!"

His earnestness is heartwarming, and were it any other scenario, Kakashi might have considered telling him the truth, but the truth being what it was, he really doesn't feel as though it were just his secret to tell.

The concern on his friends face, though, was another matter entirely, and when Gai was worried about him, he always made a point of following though, even when the recipient of his worry really, really could do without his well-meaning help.

"I know." Kakashi finally says. "I'm grateful for that, but this is one time I'd rather keep my, ah, 'injury' to myself."

He gives his most reassuring smile to the man, but Gai is still a first class ninja and to Kakashi's growing discomfort those huge eyebrows shoot straight up and disappear into the thick locks of his ebony bowl-cut.

"My god." He gasps.

Kakashi freezes and hopes against everything that Gai is about to draw a conclusion he can scoff at, that he can laugh at that he can-

"It's a woman."

Rokudaime or not, Kakashi can't help but feel a little pride at how spot-on his friend is. The pride, however is quickly replaced in favour of embarrassment because he's not seen Gai's mouth open that wide, nor his jaw dropped that low since their impromptu dick-measuring competition in their teenage years.

"Who is she?" Gai whispers too loudly. He's trying to be quiet, but he's still too loud. Kakashi darts up, crosses the room and checks the outer hall before closing the door as discreetly as he can manage in his flustered state.

"Can you please keep your voice down?!"

Tears begin to gather in Gai's eyes.

"I am SO happy for you my friend!"

'Good lord,' Kakashi cringes internally, 'I think I might have found a more embarrassing moment in my life than the time Minato-Sensei caught me reading Tactics, then tried to read it with me…out loud.'

The wheelchair is practically vibrating with the man's barely concealed excitement and Kakashi rubs his temples in an attempt to organise his thoughts.

"Gai, please don't get too carried away."

"Carried away? Kakashi, you have never, in all my years knowing you, ever had someone in your life of a romantic nature. Ever. This is a beautiful moment my friend, and it is my duty, nay, my pleasure to let you know you have my full support."

"You're getting ahead of yourself. Though your…support? I appreciate it."

Gai frowns and turns his wheelchair to face Kakashi, who checks the door again and then makes his way back to his desk. He slumps in his chair and eyes the Taijutsu specialist warily.

"Gai, I can honestly say I have no idea what this is or even if it's something I should pursue. I'm leaving the ball in her court, so to speak."

The black haired man examines him with a strangely blank expression, then he appears to come to a conclusion. Kakashi casts a questioning look his way, but Gai merely raises both arms and then folds them, tucking his hands into his armpits.

"Don't you dare-" Kakashi blurts out, but he is too late.

"BWAAAARK. BWARK BWARK BWAAAAARK!"

There is no dignity in staying in the room but leaving isn't an option, so Kakashi does the next best thing. He hears the door behind them open and decides that the better part of valour is discretion. Ignoring Gai's impressive flapping he hides under his own desk and pretends he's dead. He's convinced exposure to this much embarrassment in one day is enough to kill him. It's ended lesser men.

The guard rushes in, scroll at the ready, but freezes upon seeing the only visible man in the room flapping away furiously.

"Rokudaime-sama are you alright I heard a disturbanc- oh. Gai-sensei." Tenten trails off. She fastens her scroll behind her and adjusts her arm braces to give her hands something to do other than point at her old teacher accusingly, as she used to do as a Genin.

"You look like you're trying to take off there Sensei." She quips as she walks into the room and looks around casually.

Gai continues clucking vigorously and flaps with even more fervour. The weapons mistress merely shakes her head and leans on the table. Raising her hand she balls it into a fist and slams it into the middle of the desk. After a few moments Tenten repeats the motion and the desk creaks ominously. She raises her fist again and a small, very quiet voice emerges from the desk.

"Make him go away!" Kakashi hisses.

Tenten instead chooses to grin.

"You know, despite popular appearances, I bet you aren't the first Hokage to hide under a desk."

"A most astute observation, my former student!" Gai chirps happily, before resuming his boisterous chicken impression.

Kakashi instead chooses to make a noise not unlike a dying budgie.

To his immense relief Tenten is not here to join in the mockery, but to inform him of an impending meeting. She takes a sealed scroll from her sleeve and drops it behind the desk, where it falls to the floor and rolls slowly into his foot.

He drags himself out from under the desk, scroll in hand and turns it over, examining the seal with growing annoyance. He recognises the seal and with it, realises the clearance of the other two occupants of the room is unfortunately lacking.

"Sorry," Kakashi says and gestures to the scroll, "for my eyes only."

Tenten hops off the desk and offers a smart salute before taking a firm hold of her former Sensei's wheelchair handles. Gai, for his part, tugs his forelock and offers up a sympathetic smile.

"I'll be back for you later, my friend. We have much to catch up on."

"I make no promises."

Kakashi waves at the two as they leave and leans over his desk to peer at the seal on the scroll. It's a small thing, common looking save for the quality of the wax used. Not many would have spotted it, but there were very few ninja that even knew about the genjutsu developed to conceal the image on a wax seal.

He tapped it and it unfurled itself with a pop, letting out a small cloud of smoke that had him forcing out a breath and leaving his desk sharply.

Luckily the gas dissipates and it proves it is no more than the usual cloak and dagger theatrics that missives from this Kage usually held. He returns to his seat and props his elbows on the desk, framing the missive with his forearms and pinning it flat to the table. The ink rippled gently and began to form the message.

"Great. She can't just send me a hawk like everyone else." He sneers as he watches the words form and then dissolve against the parchment.

I've heard that there's been some unrest in Earth Country. Have you been upsetting the peasants again? The last time you were there in person was a bit messy wasn't it? I should know, they blamed me for it. If the green village is at odds with the brown village then know the blue village has open arms to those who would have need of trading partners.

~M

He rolls up the scroll and snaps his fingers, watching listlessly as it bursts into flames and drifts onto the desk as ash and flakes of blackened paper. It occurs to him that he might have made a slight error in his dealings with the ambassador from Earth the prior morning. He really shouldn't have put off the trade meeting with the man just because it was the morning after the party and he was feeling…'delicate'.

The more harsh part of his reasoning deigned his reaction had been far too lenient. The ambassador had been, rather plainly, rude. He'd dismissed him abruptly and promised him another meeting.

The sensible part pointed out that the man was still very much alive and the rest of him, as usual, didn't give a shit.

Unfortunately, Kakashi knew that the meeting TenTen had been kind enough to remind him of, was with this very man. He knew he couldn't put it off again, infuriating as it might be to speak and negotiate with politicians when he was a ninja that had spent most of his Anbu career killing them, he was Hokage now.

He mentally checks the scroll again and wonders just how the Mizukage found out he'd snubbed the Ambassador of Earth country in so short a time.

"Damn it." He recalls the cause for the entire scenario at once. The Ambassador from Mist! He'd gifted that damn bottle to him, which had eventually lead to his dismissal of the meeting he had the next morning. He knew Mai hadn't planned the events that had followed that bottle of liquid sin, but right now he certainly felt happier placing the blame at her feet.

Kakashi sighs and the ashes of the burned missive lift and float. He adjusts his hat and makes for the meeting room.

"Time to get this over with."

___________

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May make a chapter 3 as a christmas present to kakasaku fandom <3


	3. Ripples

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the meeting, of which Kakashi is entirely too pleased with himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the much delayed post. University assignments and tests and whatnot. I have triumphed though, and will be trying to post a little more frequently. Rather interestingly, I've ended up writing many other KS fics, each of varying degrees of completion. I'll be posting those up in the easter break, which I shall be on friday, after I've got some last bits of work done :D

Sakura only catches up on what actually went on in the 'meeting from hell' after the fact. She was summoned up to the meeting chamber where the rest of the delegates had retreated into the Hokages office for a break while she cleaned up what was left of the Ambassador from Earth.

It was certainly something she'd seen before, and it was definitely something she'd see again. The man had been mercifully unconscious, and Sakura made a note in her write up of the incident that it had been entirely accidental. 

As she flicked through his file she reminded herself of a few of his injuries with an entirely too pleased air about her. Spontaneous loss of balance, coupled with loosening of the bowels and a bleed on the brain were impressive results from nothing more than an apparently livid look from the current Hokage. She'd been in meetings where her Shisho had literally caved in a delegates face with an empty bottle of sake, which was, coincidentally, why beverages were now served in little plastic bottles and cups in meetings. 

She looks at the Ambassador and notes he's still asleep, though that was more to do with his current prescription. He'd woken up disorientated and slurring, so she'd prescribed him a litany of drugs to at least keep him silent, if not deal with the pain entirely. In all honesty, a few millimetres was the only reason he was lying in a hospital bed and not the morgue.

To say that he ex-sensei was a master of black looks was an understatement. She grins to herself and puts the Ambassador's patient folder back into the slot at the end of his bed. With one last look at his vitals, because despite the man being dislikable she really didn't want him dead in her hospital, she picks up her clipboard, tucks it under her arm, then steps out and makes a beeline for the main office to hand over to the next on duty orderly.

The two medics who are already there finish their conversation abruptly when she walks in. It's Udon and another one of her 'little projects' that her Shisho had insisted she start on the moment it had been decided that Tsunade could 'gracefully' retire. Shizune was determined to make sure the older woman would at least try to stay out of trouble during her twilight years, so it fell to Sakura, as the other apprentice of the legendary medic, to take up the reigns in her place.

"Haruno-Sensei, is the Ambassador alright?" The young woman asked. Sakura smiles and covered up her panic. She feels awful that she can never remember the other medics name, but she engages in the conversation anyway. She'll pick up on something if Sakura stalls for too long.

"Ah, he's unconscious, but we'll know when he next wakes up."

The woman frowns and looks between Udon and her teacher.

"Sensei, there's a rumour going around that…that you were involved?"

Sakura purses her lips in annoyance. She'd only been there to clean up afterwards, she'd had nothing to do with the incident at all, save being mentioned by name.

"Aya was under the impression that he'd said something rather…unsavoury about you Sensei." Udon supplies helpfully. Sakura gives him a grateful nod and thanks her lucky stars that at least one of her students is on the ball.

"Oh that. Yes, but nothing worth repeating Aya. As we can all see, Rokudaime-sama dealt with the problem sufficiently."

"Won't this cause any…" the apprentice pauses and fumbles around for the right phrasing and then settles with a more blunt approach, "…problems with Earth and Fire Diplomatic relations?"

Sakura sighs and puts her clipboard in her other hand to give her a moment to think. Aya looks nervous, and once again Sakura find annoyance in herself at failing to remember much about this girl who is supposed to be her apprentice. Aya had been part of her team when she'd last been out to Earth country on a mercy mission to help a village with an outbreak of a nasty virus that the local government had refused to deal with. It had been quarantined and Aya had great difficulty understanding why a country could practically abandon one of it's own villages and had done a surprising job of rallying the people to keep their spirits up during their treatment.

Understandably the young woman had obviously made friends out in Earth and the idea of conflict brewing between them and her home country was concerning. Sakura fixes Aya with a reassuring smile.

"It's okay, our Hokage isn't the kind of man to pursue insult at the price of peace."

Udon nods but then frowns. His glasses slip down his nose as he does so and he pushes them up decisively before adding his own opinion.

"I believe Aya is more concerned about the repercussions of the Hokages actions, Sensei. When the Ambassador wakes up he's not going to be of a mind to give a favourable review of the man who almost killed him."

She resists the urge to roll her eyes at him. Ninja had been at each others throats for a lot less over the decades, even over the centuries. If anything the man should be happy he was alive to tell the tale, rather than murdered in a back alley on his way home. Still, Aya remains unsure and Sakura knows she should try a little harder at settling her worries.

Sakura reaches out and places a firm hand on the woman's shoulder and squeezes gently.

"The report I've written concerning the incident confirms it was an accident. He's receiving treatment on Konoha and he'll have an escort home to ensure he arrives safely and healthy. If he speaks ill of us after we've given him the best treatment we can provide then the only person that will look aggressive is him."

Udon murmurs his agreement and Aya finally relaxes.

"Still," Udon adds, because she can't ever catch a break, even when she thinks she's done well, " even if the Ambassador did decide to pursue this, there were delegates from Water, Iron and Sand present. Currently all of them are signed up to the peace treaty that was passed because of and after the fourth shinobi war. It's a non-aggression pact, Aya, we're okay."

For Aya, Udon's speech is a relief, but his assumption of safety doesn't sit well for Sakura. It feels too presumptuous and she feels the need to correct him, if only because they are still ninja, and being prepared for the unexpected is part of the foundations of what they are.

Her feelings must show on her face, because Udon holds up a placating hand and adds to his previous declaration.

"That is to say, if anything should go wrong, the Rokudaime will see to it."

Part of Sakura, the combative part, wants to chew out Udon for speaking without thinking things through. The other part decides to just accept his appeasement and come up with a suitable punishment later…preferably when he thinks he's in the clear.

She squeezes Aya's shoulder again for good measure, and the woman looks content with their responses. 

"Right you two, Aya is in charge for the afternoon shift. Udon, Ambassador Shimu is asleep. Let me know if there's any changes and call me if he wakes up. We have two teams due to return at some point today from a B mission and from an A mission. If there is anything you can't handle, let me know immediately, there's no prizes for pride here. Everything else is as usual."

Her two apprentices bob their heads at her her commands in tandem and make themselves scarce. She looks at the clock on the wall and is pleased that she's not missed lunch again. With a skip in her step she sheds her doctors coat and steps out for a well deserved break.

____________________________

 

"So. Scaring idiots into comas are we?"

Kakashi continues to walk with a bounce in his step, waving occasionally to the passersby as they offer their hellos.

"Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

The Rokudaime pauses and holds a hand to his chin as though in deep thought. He sighs quietly to himself and shifts his weight from foot to foot and makes various noises to give the appearance of serious contemplation. Sakura rolls her eyes at the display and rests a fist on her hip - a warning which Kakashi acknowledges briefly with a flick of his eyes towards her fist.

"It was extremely satisfying." He finally says, nodding to confirm his thoughts. "I'd like the opportunity to do it again. Tell me when Ambassador Shimu wakes up."

"You enjoyed yourself did you?" She asks, though she can tell by the stretch of fabric that he's got one of those smug grins he always gets when he's won something.

"Immensely." He casts a measuring glance at her and brings his hand away from his face, tucking it into his robes with it's partner. "I'm disappointed that the chance to defeat my opponents with just a look doesn't come around very often anymore. Even with the Sharingan I never took anyone out as quickly as Shimu." He shrugs and Sakura can't help but cast a sympathetic look at the scar that once framed a Sharingan eye.

His own, slate grey eye stares back at her and she finds it much more appealing than the spinning red that brings a phantom pain to her chest and the smell of burning flesh to her nose. Sakura mentally shakes herself and takes up position to his left, which prompts him to continue his journey.

"Well, after all that terrorising-"

"-I'll have you know that was serious political debate!" He interjects with false hurt at her implications.

"As I said, after all that terrorising, was anything actually achieved in the meeting or was it a flop as per usual."

Kakashi casts a glare heavenward and his next few steps are more vigorous in their intent. Sakura notes this with a poorly concealed smirk and trots a few steps to keep up.

"There were some improvement between water and sand, but when Shimu offered his…opinion, everything went to shit." He starts and finishes there, unsure as to whether he should divulge any more. She doesn't actually have the clearance to hear about most meetings and the ones she does, she was always present for. Though if any more meetings ended up the way this one had, she might very well end up a requirement. He sighs and ignores her curious glance.

He recalled the meeting unhappily. The Ambassador from Earth country had spent the entire meeting being unnecessarily difficult. He'd whined and bemoaned the fact that his trip had overrun, at no fault of his own, of course, and had demanded recompense. Kakashi thought he'd dealt with it all very well up until the Mist Ambassador had brought up that damnable gift of his and Kakashi had been forced to admit it had been 'good', which the Earth Ambassador had leapt upon with the vigour of a ferret down a rabbit hole. He'd sneered that maybe the current Hokage couldn't hold his drink as well as his predecessor or, he'd sneered again, the current head of medicine. He'd then, rather stupidly, gone on to suggest that maybe she could offer him some of her 'services', as a means of smoothing over this political 'impasse'. Kakashi wasn't stupid. He knew the man had no idea about the night that had followed the 'bottle incident' as he was now dubbing it, but he was certainly observant of the Head Medics skills and looks. So in a slimy, underhanded way the Ambassador had attempted to obtain her services - but not a medic, as a consort.

It was a request that Kakashi had deigned not to inform Sakura of, lest she decide to withold her treatment of the Ambassador. Not that he'd of put up a fight of course, but in terms of diplomatic relations, it was a slippery slope. He didn't want Naruto stepping up to the seat only to find Kakashi had left their diplomatic relations a smouldering ruin, with a litany of corpses to tell the sorry tale.

He glanced at the woman beside him and wondered if he'd been half as angry if he hadn't woken up beside her or…he coloured slightly at the memory and recalled the flush of rage that filled him up when the Ambassador had unwisely continued his illicit request.

The ambassador had gone on to suggest that Sakura might employ her other charms to ensure a good report back to his Daimyo's ear and before the man had finished his sentence Kakashi had levelled a glare at him so violent the man soiled himself then passed out and cracked his head on his neighbours chair as he fell. To the many observers at the meeting, Kakashi had damn near killed the man with just a look.

It was a fall that had very nearly ended him. As Sakura attested to in her report, the ambassador had avoided death by mere millimetres. She had added to the form that 'the poor, unfortunate man' was of a 'weak' constitution, and had thusly put in a recommendation that someone of a more solid disposition take up his post. Sakura then prescribed him some medication, compliments of Konoha, to help him with his 'poor balance' and 'tremulous digestion'. Recalling the report returned some of his lost good humour. She had a way with words.

As he reaches the Ramen bar he pauses and pulls back the curtain, standing aside to allow Sakura to enter first. She dips a cheeky curtsy for him as she steps in and he shakes his head fondly at the gesture before following her in.

He knew it was irrational to feel quite as strongly as he had. Sakura was perfectly capable of defending her own honour and, as he had found out rather bluntly, of doing exactly as she wished with it. Still, he supposes it had ended a lot better than it could have. The council hadn't dared to ask why their Hokage had such a sharp reaction to the ambassadors suggestion and most were grateful Tsunade hadn't been present for the meeting. It wouldn't have been the first ambassador who had 'never arrived' or had met such an 'unfortunate' end on their return trip. 

Apparently many chalked it up to her having been his former student, as he'd heard no other rumours flying around, as they were often wont to do in the Hokage tower. Others chose to enjoy their Hokages reaction to the diplomat, chalking it up to the usual result of ninjas being forced to talk and not act, which was, as he now knew, much more frustrating that he had previously understood. On the plus side, it reassured the female populace of Konoha that the man in charge wouldn't stand for such crude dealings at their expense. His guard at the time had tipped her mask to him as he'd left the room, a gesture of appreciation he'd recognised from his own Anbu days.

A hand on his arm alerts him to the arrival of their lunch.

"I ordered for you."

He blinks and realises he was lost in thought and nods his thanks to Sakura who takes up her chopsticks and salutes him before cracking them with a relish that both impresses and unnerves him.

Taking up his own and dropping his mask he doesn't bother to hide his face as he eats. He's absolutely sure the mystery is gone as she doesn't even cast a curious glance in his direction. The realisation that he's no longer mysterious to her is not an unfamiliar one, but it's still disheartening to think she regards him as less…impressive? He ponders this as he finishes his lunch and finds himself at a loss for what to do next. Out of habit he draws the mask back up and settles it into place.

"A kunai for your thoughts?"

"Just a kunai?" He smiles, "my thoughts are more expensive than that Sakura."

She pouts at him and he levels an unimpressed stare at her to which she replies by poking out her tongue.

"Always so difficult. Honestly, you've been miles away since I brought up the meeting." She pauses and frowns. "It wasn't that bad was it?"

He shrugs.

"We're not at war, but we may have difficulty with trade to Earth Country." Kakashi isn't sure why he's talking shop at lunch, but Sakura seems genuinely interested, and as far as he's concerned the information is nothing new. Most meetings are leaked before the end of the day. Living in a ninja village all but guaranteed that only the most important of diplomatic talks were subject to dissection and discussion on the grape vine.

"Basically, if he wakes up and starts screeching about cutting off trade then we'll have to respond in kind. Earth knows they can't survive without importing our agricultural produce, just as we know that we need their industrial exports due to our population increase. They can't eat and we can't build if neither of us play nice." He summarises.

Sakura nods and pushes a full tea cup in his direction. He nods his thanks and picks it up, suddenly aware that she's watching him about to take his mask down. Noting her attempt to be casual about catching a glance he turns slightly and blocks her view of his face, sipping his tea discreetly and replacing his mask.

As he turns back he catches the irritation on her face and the amusing puff of her cheeks as she's thwarted from catching a glance.

"What's the matter?" He asks, all innocence.

"I would have thought you wouldn't worry about that now." Sakura points at his mask and he grins beneath it, pleased to know that he hasn't lost all of his mystery for her.

"Sakura, I'm on duty. Besides, its nothing you haven't seen before."

The look she gives him is dry and disbelieving. He chuckles in response before catching the time out of the corner of his eye.

"Alas, I have work to do."

Realisation dawns on her face too late as he stands tips his hat to her.

"Thank you for lunch Sakura, it was very kind of you."

She squawks as the sound of his laughter is left behind in the lingering smoke of his disappearance.

"Hey! That lunch wasn't free!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, screened comments, but don't be afraid to leave me a word or a smiley face! Any flames will be sewn into my cloak of proving, and will be used as evidence that I am indeed a KS shipper, and am happy to be so.

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure if I'm going to do a follow up or not, I've got a vague idea (read: plot ninken running around on a polished floor) but I haven't yet managed to grapple it. I may post another chapter after I've throttled it out. Writing is hard.
> 
> Also, I enable the commentary screening, but please don't be put off giving feedback!


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